It all started with a swing
by Swiftly Stolen Soul
Summary: For many, a simple swing can be linked with childhood memories. Sometimes, even mentioning the word can bring a smile to people's faces. It's just something about those chain-bound toys that many seemed to enjoy. But, to a lesser population, a swing is a reminder.


**Alright. Here's a new story for you all! This time, it's Pru x Aus (I kinda love that pairing, whoops.) This story _probably _won't be updated often, and will be rather short, but let's hope you enjoy it anyways! **

**~ Soul**

"_Preußen_! Slow down, you child! I am not as fast as I used to be!" A heavily accented, masculine voice called out, with the body to the sound dragging his feet along the sidewalk. His shoulders drooped, and a frown was settled across his face, "Seriously."

The individual being called, however, didn't skip a beat as he sprinted past the complaining man, laughing as he sped past. "Roderich, be real here; you were never fast!" He jibed at his companion, keeping his glittering eyes focused on one particular thing ahead-

It was...

A park?

Yes, ahead of these two grown males was a small park, complete with two slides, monkey bars, a firepole, and of course - two swings.

As if on cue, the first man, currently identified as 'Roderich,' willed up the last remaining bit of his strength to swiftly dash ahead to one of the structures, surely passing the other, chalky-haired man, who goes by the name of 'Gilbert.'

Roderich stopped in front of the swing set, panting heavily. He draped himself down on one, and brushed himself off of any invisible dust particles that may have clung to him during his 3 yard run.

Gilbert settled down on the other swing immediately following, grinning at Roderich cheekily. "You can't be out of breath, Roddy. Mein gott, how often do you go for runs?" He asked, his crimson-hued eyes boring into the visible side of Roderich's face.

The brown-haired male swallowed dryly, and groaned, "You know this, Gilbert; I prefer to stay indoors, because it is highly illogical to bring a piano outdoors. I mean, good heavens, what if it rained? God..." He shook his head at the thought, and turned innocently to the Prussian, "What... Why did you drag me out here today, Gilbert?"

The albino arched a fine eyebrow to the Austrian, and began to pump his legs rhythmically, resulting in a small bit of back-and-forth movements. Roderich sighed, and nodded briefly. "You were so talkative a minute ago..." He mumbled, and mirrored Gilbert's legs with his own.

Soon, the two adults were having an unsaid competition to see who can go the highest. Currently, Gilbert was winning, but only because Roderich was beginning to tire again.

Suddenly, Roderich found himself remembering the time were Gilbert dared him to swing higher than he's ever gone before, and jump from the tallest point.

_"I promise you'll be fine! I've done it loads of times!" Child Gilbert exclaimed, giving the young Roderich an encouraging thumbs up. _

_Turns out, you have to be prepared for the landed, which in those case, Roderich was not._

_As he jumped, he screamed out a high-pitched, "Gilbert!" before landing in the rough sand. Face first_.

He began to laugh dryly, putting the Prussian's attention on himself, "What's so funny?" He asked, frowning curiously at the chuckling individual. The Austrian smiled softly, and pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "Remember that time you dared me to jump off the swing, and I fell into the sand? You promised I'd be okay!"

Gilbert finally cracked a smile, "Hey, you were fine. A few stitches above the lip is nothing," he said, his fingernail scratching against the weather-rusted chain.

Roderich snorted, and turned away from Gilbert, "My mother was furious because I didn't tell her how I got injured," he said with a smile, "At first she refused to take me to the hospital, but then a drop of blood dripped onto our new hard-wood flooring, and she couldn't get me in the car fast enough."

Gilbert grinned, "You had your piano taken away for 2 days. I don't believe you spoke to me in that time," he said. "Although waking up to furious trappings at 5:00 in the morning for 3 days straight wouldn't put anyone in a great mood," Roderich countered, crossing his legs at the ankles.

Gilbert rolled his eyes, "But the sunrises were pretty Roderich. And you enjoyed it, so your argument is invalid."

The Austrian huffed, "'Your argument is invalid'? Have you been taking notes from my dialect, Gilbert?" he teased, earning himself a soft glare from the albino. Roderich laughed, "I'm kidding, Gilbert. Do not take it to offense, you moron."

The white-haired male smirked, and continued to pump his legs.

"Remember the first time we met?" Gilbert suddenly asked, causing for Roderich to smile softly, "Ja," he said, curling his fingers tighter around the chain instinctively...

_When they were 6, Roderich was given a little break from his instrumental hobbies, and was given the opportunity to go to wherever he pleased. The slender child has picked a park a few minutes drive from their house. At first, Roderich's parents refused, saying that hooligans hung around there, and they didn't want their intelligent child to be influenced by any of them. But Roderich was persistent and persuasive, and before he knew it, they were on their way._

_The only reason why Roderich wanted to visit that particular park was because of the children that played their. He'd passed many times on his way to the symphony, and saw that a variety of children played there. _

_Actually, in his short life-time of 6 years, Roderich had yet to make a single friend, unless his parents count, but he most definitely couldn't tell his secrets to them. Between preschool and piano classes, no one had really stood out to him. _

_As they neared the destination, Roderich hoped his luck would change._

_As soon as they parked on the side of the road, the young boy was unbuckled, and was dashing across the soft, green grass. _

_Within his sprint to the playground, he passed many kids, many of which didn't look up from whatever game they were playing. _

_When he reached the sandbox, he peered around through violet eyes, hoping to see anyone moderately interesting. Most children in this area looking either around is age, or a little older. _

_From what he could see, there was a tall boy in a whitish-pink coloured scarf, who stared intently at Roderich, and was standing next to a Chinese boy, who also peered curiously back at him. _

_There was a blonde boy and a brown haired boy sitting on the wood that ran along the perimeter of the sandbox, both having chin-length hair, and green eyes. They were lost in conversation, and didn't notice the violet-eyed boy glancing at them._

_All the other kids seemed preoccupied with other things, and no one else caught Roderich's eye. He sighed softly, and trudged to the swing set across the park. _

_He seated himself properly on the swing, and scanned the park again, biting the insides of his cheeks. Mutti and Vati both claimed it was a horrible habit to start, and that if he continued to do it, he would chew a hole through his cheeks. Roderich found the probability of this happening highly unlikely, but he only did it when he parents weren't around, just to be safe..._

_"Hey! Are you gonna' move or what?" A voice called out, interrupting Roderich's musings. Snapping back to attention, he could only assume the voice was for him, and he looked around curiously._

_"I'm behind you!" The voice said again, and Roderich hopped off the swing to face his opponent._

_When he turned, he spotted a small, white-haired boy with glittering, crimson eyes. Seeing as his skin was lightly-hued as well, Roderich assumed to be an albino. _

_"Who are you?" He asked, being careful with his words. He spoke English fairly well, but his native tongue was German. _

_The boy frowned, "That doesn't matter. Who're you?" _

_Roderich stood a little straighter, showing off his advanced height for a 6 year old. "My name is Roderich Edelstein, and I just turned six years old," he said in a professional manner. He was tempted to hold his hand out in a greeting like his parents had taught him, but he had a feeling the albino wouldn't respond. _

_He watched as the mysterious boy chuckled, and perched his hands on his hips. "Sie sprechen Deutsch?" He asked, causing Roderich to nod awkwardly. "How did you know?..."_

_The white haired boy finally smiled, "My name is Gilbert. Gilbert Beilschmidt. But I'm six and a half years old. And I can tell by my accent. Couldn't you tell from mine?" he said, raising a challenging eyebrow towards the brown haired boy. _

_Roderich scoffed, "Well, I'm taller," he mumbled, once again biting the inside of his cheeks. _

_Gilbert once again turned to the swing. "Do you even know how swing?" He asked, grasping hold of the silvery chain. His tone practically sang 'Challenge!'_

_Truth be told, Roderich didn't know that you were supposed to do anything on the swings, but of course, he couldn't let Gilbert know that-_

_"Of course I know how to swing," he blurted, immediately regretting his spur-of-the-moment decision. _

_But Gilbert didn't seem to pay attention to his awkwardness, he just shrugged, and took the swing next to Roderich. The Austrian boy widened his eyes, "What are you doing?" he asked, reseating himself on the cold, plastic seat. Gilbert stared intently at Roderich, and the bit began to grow nervous._

_After a moment, Gilbert smiled, "You don't know how to swing, do you Roderich?" He asked, and took the boy slightly by surprise by using his name. _

_Roderich felt his ears burn, and his cheeks flush. He scratched the back of his head with one hand, the other still firmly wrapped around the chain, "Nein," he mumbled, ducking his head away from the other boy's view._

_Gilbert smiled softly, and hopped off his seat, and moved so he was standing behind Roderich. _

_Roderich tensed up, craning his neck so he could see his companion, "What are you doi-"_

_"Hold on!"_

_At that moment, Roderich felt a pair of warm hands press against his back, and he heard the chain creak. What? Oh, he was moving!_

_The violet-eyed boy clutched the chain more firmly, ignoring the pinch he felt as the metal dug into his palms. He could see everything from up here, even his parents who were sitting on one of the isolated wooden benches across the field. _

_That moment, Roderich felt like he could do anything. He hesitantly removed his hands from the chain, and lifted them out in front of him._

_"Roderich, are you trying to fall off?" Gilbert called, hopping back onto the swing next to him, and began to pump his legs zealously, "Hold onto the chain!"_

_Roderich obeyed, and copied Gilbert, moving his own legs in a front-and-back motion. _

_"This is... Splendid!" Roderich cried, physically unable for the smile to be removed from his face. _

_Gilbert laughed at Roderich's remark. "I think you mean awesome," he called back. _

_The brunette nodded, "Awesome, indeed!"_

_After about 10 minutes of swinging, Roderich heard his name be called. He dragged his feet in the sand to slow himself, and shot off to where his mother stood. _

_"Mutti, Mutti!" He shouted as he neared, turning his mothers attention to him, "I just played on a swing, and it was awesome!"_

_His mother wrinkled her nose, "Don't use the word 'awesome', Roderich. It is hooligan slang," she said, steering him towards their family car, "No, we're leaving. Maybe we'll come back another day."_

_But Roderich didn't want to leave; he didn't even get to say goodbye to Gilbert! _

_"Wait- Mutti, I must say goodbye to my friend!" He called, and tried to wriggle out of his mothers form grasp on his wrist, but it was no use._

_As surprised as she was that Roderich found a companion, they had stayed longer than planned, and now they were cutting into his study time. "Nein, Roderich. Come along," she said, tugging the boy to where the driver waited patiently with the door open._


End file.
